Diet, injections, and injunctions will combine, from a very early age, to produce the sort of character and the sort of beliefs that the authorities consider desirable, and any serious criticism of the powers that be will become psychologically impossible- Bertrand Russell, The Impact of Science on Society

THE FUTURE

Aired in 1984-5, the BBC serialization of John Christopher's novels, The Tripods, was one of the longest adaptations on British television. In this sci-fi drama, The City of The Masters was home to an unseen elite who occasionally ventured out into the countryside in giant three-legged machines to lord it over the technologically impoverished populace. Children would be taken up into the Tripods to undergo 'capping', the surgical attachment of an electrical circuit to their skulls. Unlikely as it is that we will open the curtains one morning to find a 30 metre tall metal leg in front of the window, the Tripods contains the essential theme of our current predicament: The dawn of a new dark age of global technocratic feudalism. Most human beings are targeted for extermination and the remainder will be indentured on the global plantation. The 'sort of character' that the authorities consider desirable is the diseased, impoverished, infertile, sexless, dumbed down automaton, whose function in life is merely to enact the Masters' business plan. Some of the character-altering weaponry already at their disposal includes: Media brainwashing; water fluoridation; vaccination; gender altering foods and chemicals; neurotoxic food additives; and psychotropic drugs. Life expectancy is being gradually reduced by the modern day concentration camp which masquerades as the public healthcare system. On the horizon are: Implantable microchips; vaccines to alter brain chemistry; genetically modified pharmacological food; human cloning; and nanotechnology Under pending U.K. legislation, the process of generational transformation will be monitored on a special children's database. Family life will be replaced by a gigantic welfare apparatus and state controlled childcare. Privacy will become an alien concept. Citizens will be permanently logged on to the Big Brother surveillance grid, through their implanted microchip, the face scanning CCTV in the street, the RFID tracking chips in every supermarket product, and the biometric identification that accompanies every transaction. Government will have instant access to all public and private sector databases. Don't think of getting in your car and heading for hills. Under current proposals, Big Brother will be able to track cars by satellite and disable them by remote control. Think you can escape to another country? Sorry, under world government, there is no 'other country'. The Tripods series ended with the heroes fleeing across the Alps with their giant three-legged oppressors in hot pursuit. If you want to escape, think about becoming an astronaut. How about joining the rebel forces? Well, this may land you in some serious hot water. Literally in hot water, because already, the U.S. Government is shipping out 'terrorists' to foreign countries to be tortured. With distinction between ordinary crime and terrorism swept aside, rebels can expect the harshest treatment. Orwell observed that,' reprisals against prisoners which extend even to boiling and burying alive, are looked upon as normal, and, when they are committed by one's own side and not by the enemy, meritorious.' What about voting the regime out? Votes cast on electronic voting machines will disappear straight down the memory hole.

A DIFFERENT COURSE

How did we get into this mess? Observing that the gap between rich and poor was getting wider, the BBC's Jeremy Paxman wondered whether someone could become too rich. The capitalist system is destined to create a financial elite as the big fish get bigger and bigger. The financial barons provide the money and organization for all the utopian dreamers who believe in a command and control society. But the Devil's greatest trick is to persuade man that he does not exist. The ablility of the hidden hand to manipulate policy depends upon concealment. It has been assisted by the widespread apathy towards public affairs, generated largely by the relative tranquillity of life in the West over the last sixty years. However, through the internet, it is becoming much easier to demonstrate and communicate both the existence of the cartel and the cumulative toxicity of its various activities. Support for the party line will dwindle as soon as its real purpose and its beneficiaries are exposed.